Pandemic impact on passenger demand gradually decreasing – Fraport’s Group airports worldwide report strong traffic development
Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed some 2.1 million passengers in February 2022 – a gain of 211.3 percent compared to the same month last year when demand dropped sharply due to travel restrictions.
Frankfurt Airport’s demand recovery was still dampened by the rapid spread of Omicron in February 2022. However, the lifting or easing of travel restrictions in various countries had a positive impact on holiday traffic. Compared to pre-pandemic figures, Frankfurt’s passenger traffic rebounded in February 2022 to nearly half the level recorded in the February 2019 reference month (down 53.4 percent).1
FRA’s cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) declined by 8.8 percent year-on-year to 164,769 metric tons in February 2022 (February 2019 comparison: up 2.1 percent). This drop in tonnage can be attributed primarily to the earlier timing of the Chinese New Year. Aircraft movements, in contrast, grew strongly by 100.8 percent year-on-year to 22,328 takeoffs and landings. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWS) increased by 53.0 percent year-on-year to nearly 1.5 million metric tons.
Across the Group, Fraport’s international portfolio of wholly-owned and subsidiary airports also continued to report positive passenger performance in the reporting month. All of Fraport’s Group airports worldwide – with the exception of Xi’an – achieved significant traffic gains in February 2022. Some Group airports even recorded growth rates exceeding 100 percent year-on-year – albeit compared to strongly reduced traffic levels in February 2021.
Traffic at Slovenia’s Ljubljana Airport (LJU) rose to 38,127 passengers in February 2022. The two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) received a total of 834,951 passengers. Lima Airport (LIM) in Peru served some 1.2 million passengers in the reporting month. The 14 Greek regional airports saw a combined traffic climb to 393,672 passengers. With a total of 44,888 passengers, the Twin Star airports of Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR) on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast also recorded a traffic increase. Antalya Airport (AYT) on the Turkish Riviera welcomed 592,606 passengers. St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport (LED) registered more than 1.0 million passengers. Only China’s Xi’an Airport (XIY) experienced a decline in February 2022. Due to ongoing travel restrictions, XIY’s traffic dipped by 25.0 percent year-on-year to just under 1.3 million passengers.
1 Editorial note: For enhanced statistical comparison, our reporting of the Fraport Traffic Figures includes (until further notice) a comparison between the current traffic figures and the corresponding 2019 base-year figures, in addition to the regular year-on-year reporting.
